I need to accept that nothing I write on this blog will change anyone's mind. And continuing to write about how this case has devolved into conspiracy and superstition - blaming the police - only brings more anger and hostility. Because of this, I will not continue to write regular posts on this blog, but I do want to preserve some of the more important posts for people who have found this site while doing research on the case.
A cop who was the center of conspiracy theories by armchair sleuths in this case, took his life last week. How much of that decision was based on what he'd read about himself on the Internet? We don't know. Maybe it was only a drop in the bucket, something in the back of his mind that made him sad or disenchanted. I do know that if he read those things, it affected him. I know because I've been the target of so many attacks for reporting the facts of this case. And there's a helpless feeling that comes with that. Because you want to calmly explain to them how they got it wrong, how they're letting their paranoia get the best of them. But it's out of your control. They've made up their minds.
And, this small and loud group, they really want their conspiracies. They want their made-up stories. Because it's exciting to imagine that there is some boogeyman out there, even though none exists in this case. They need a bad person to focus their blame. And if you try to take that away from them, you become that bad guy.
Whatever that policeman's reasons were, he didn't deserve to spend the last year and a half of his life having people suggest he killed Maura Murray or helped to cover it up when there was no basis in fact to support such defamation.
I'll continue to help behind the scenes as much as I can. Feel free to send me information and to reach out. But there is no reason to continue to debate this case in a public forum. Everything I wanted to say, I said in the book.
If you're interested in helping solve some other mysteries, please follow The Philosophy of Crime, where we post a case a day, not to debate the facts, but to share the details in hopes of finding the person out there who carries the missing piece of a puzzle.
Donations in memory of Cecil Smith can be made here: Alzheimer’s Association, MA/NH Chapter, 309 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452
Finally, if you are in a tough place and are having thoughts of self-harm, here is where you can get help right now.
A cop who was the center of conspiracy theories by armchair sleuths in this case, took his life last week. How much of that decision was based on what he'd read about himself on the Internet? We don't know. Maybe it was only a drop in the bucket, something in the back of his mind that made him sad or disenchanted. I do know that if he read those things, it affected him. I know because I've been the target of so many attacks for reporting the facts of this case. And there's a helpless feeling that comes with that. Because you want to calmly explain to them how they got it wrong, how they're letting their paranoia get the best of them. But it's out of your control. They've made up their minds.
And, this small and loud group, they really want their conspiracies. They want their made-up stories. Because it's exciting to imagine that there is some boogeyman out there, even though none exists in this case. They need a bad person to focus their blame. And if you try to take that away from them, you become that bad guy.
Whatever that policeman's reasons were, he didn't deserve to spend the last year and a half of his life having people suggest he killed Maura Murray or helped to cover it up when there was no basis in fact to support such defamation.
I'll continue to help behind the scenes as much as I can. Feel free to send me information and to reach out. But there is no reason to continue to debate this case in a public forum. Everything I wanted to say, I said in the book.
If you're interested in helping solve some other mysteries, please follow The Philosophy of Crime, where we post a case a day, not to debate the facts, but to share the details in hopes of finding the person out there who carries the missing piece of a puzzle.
Donations in memory of Cecil Smith can be made here: Alzheimer’s Association, MA/NH Chapter, 309 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452
Finally, if you are in a tough place and are having thoughts of self-harm, here is where you can get help right now.
